During the spring and summer of 1956, trumpeter Kenny Dorham recorded two studio albums with his Jazz Prophets, a small hard bop band involving tenor saxophonist J.R. Monterose and a rhythm section of pianist Dick Katz, bassist Sam Jones and drummer Arthur Edgehill. On May 31 of that year, Dorham's group performed live at the Café Bohemia with Bobby Timmons at the piano and guitarist Kenny Burrell sitting in on all but the first of four sets. Originally engineered by Rudy Van Gelder and remastered by him in 2001, Blue Note's 2002 double-disc "Complete" Dorham Café Bohemia edition combines every usable track taped during this exceptionally fine evening of live jazz. The word "understated" has sometimes been used to describe the music played by Dorham's band on this night in 1956; this is only appropriate if Dorham is compared with intense individuals like Fats Navarro or Dizzy Gillespie. Dorham's jazz was perhaps more intimate and accessible precisely because his horn had an earthier tone, almost like that of a cornet. Sometimes compared with Ted Curson, Richard Williams or Freddie Hubbard, Dorham sounded a lot like the profoundly gifted and vastly underappreciated Johnny Coles, particularly during ballads like "Autumn in New York" and "Round Midnight." There are also intimations of Miles Davis, Nat Adderley and even young Don Cherry. This music is designed for relaxing and grooving out. It will greatly assist anyone who is traveling by night or trying to make it through to the end of another day.~ arwulf arwulf

Originally proposed to ECM Records in 1979, the collaboration of trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith and drummer Jack DeJohnette has finally found new life in America. Recorded last year in Bill Laswell's New Jersey studio (but without his heavy-handed production aesthetic), this unadorned acoustic session documents two of the world's most versatile and virtuosic improvisers working through a set of six new compositions written by Smith.

Legendary veterans whose seminal innovations can be traced to the late '60s, Smith was a charter member of the AACM, while DeJohnette served with Miles Davis during his influential fusion period. Their finely tuned rapport was rekindled in the company of pianist Anthony Davis and late bassist Malachi Favors in the first version of Smith's Golden Quartet. Favors passing in 2004 disbanded the original line-up, leaving their first two albums, Golden Quartet (Tzadik, 2000) and Year of the Elephant (Pi, 2002) as definitive examples of creative improvised music for the new century.

1 - Here's That Rainy Day
2 - The Look Of Love
3 - What Now My Love
4 - If He Walked Into My Life
5 - Because Of You
6 - You Only Live Twice
7 - Stardust
8 - Blue Again
9 - Watch What Happens
10 - Stars Fell On Alabama
11 - Without A Song
12 - Something You Got

21 Trombones

1 - I Get The Blues When It Rains
2 - Timbre
3 - Mood Indigo
4 - Sunny
5 - Just Dropped In
6 - Blue Flame
7 - The Party
8 - Perdido
9 - The Green Bee
10 - I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues
11 - How Come You Do Me Like You Do

Previously unreleased material from two of the most highly regarded jazz musicians of their generation, who helped the development of their respective instruments. Trumpeter Joe Gordon and bassist Scott LaFaro both died young at the peak of their creativity. Two sessions from 1958 and 1960, live at the Lighthouse.

The two octets Slide Hampton uses on this recording are quite similar in content but different in the way they execute this music, and much of it has to do with the distinct difference in personnel, and the two years that separate their recording dates. The first half deals with hard to post-bop modifications and the way the group approaches a bridge between the two, while the other end of the program concentrates on interpretations the music written by George Gershwin, plus an extended four-part suite written by Hampton. These dual sides of Slide Hampton combine to form a complete picture of what the emerging arranger and trombonist offered as a individualist aside from peers (Quincy Jones, J.J. Johnson, Lalo Schifrin, et. al.) who concentrated on movie soundtracks. The sessions from 1959 include Bernard McKinney on the baritone horn, three different drummers (Kenny Dennis, Charlie Persip, and Pete LaRoca) on select tracks, and fledgling young trumpeters Booker Little and Freddie Hubbard, even though Burt Collins does all of the lead brass work with Hampton. "Newport" starts the set in a modal walk, the intro initially similar to "You Don't Know What Love Is," then merges into a steady streaming freight train jam. Four other Hampton originals range from the Latin unison call outs and boogaloo/bop "Althea" (assumedly for tennis star Althea Gibson), the regal "Go East, Young Man" based on the changes of "Milestones," the much quieter post-bopper "Jazz Corner," and the simple straight bop of "Patricia." Standards "Autumn Leaves," "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child," and "Woody 'n' You" feature add-ons from the originals like chatty, choppy horns, more anthemic than normal hues, and a harder, abundant, modified line, respectively. A slightly less potent but still talented lineup from 1961 plays the five Gershwin pieces, with "There's a Boat Dat's Leavin' Soon for New York" again richly enhanced with a little rock & roll beat tossed in; "Summertime" is performed via high drama, and "It Ain't Necessarily So" is dressed in Latin trim. George Coleman is the lone artist besides Hampton and baritone saxophonist Jay Cameron on the entire date, and the always effervescent tenor saxophonist gets a laid-back solo during "I Loves You Porgy." The "dance" suite "The Cloister" is impressionistic within ballad, easy swing, slightly urgent waltz, and frantic bop segments, with some call and response at the end. Other than some drum fills from Lex Humphries, the piece is played to strict tolerances, and over some 14 minutes, is not as memorable as the other tracks, although hinting at future projects of Hampton's. As solid musically as any mainstream jazz fan might need, this is an important prelude to other large ensemble projects Slide Hampton assembled, and deserves repeat listenings to fully reap its rewards.
Michael G. Nastos - allmusic review

Burton's second album as a leader finds the 19 year old among such heavyweights as Clark Terry, Bob Brookmeyer, Phil Woods and Tommy Flanagan playing swinging, advanced hardbop.

This was still missing in my collection of Burton's 1960s dates and Blue was so very kind to offer this excellent vinyl rip. So please thank Blue for this fantastic contribution!

The amg rightly likes it:"It is puzzling why Gary Burton's second recording as a leader, Who Is Gary Burton?, remains out of print.The talented young vibraphonist had already proven himself as a sideman and was breaking new ground as a master technician on his instrument, utilizing four mallets simultaneously with seemingly little effort. Joining him on this sophomore outing is a septet that includes Clark Terry, Phil Woods, Bob Brookmeyer (who is strangely not listed anywhere on the album jacket), and Joe Morello.The play list is anything but predictable, with two exciting originals by drummer Chris Swanson (a fellow Berklee alum), a well-crafted arrangement of George Shearing's "Conception," an elegant take of "My Funny Valentine" with a gorgeous flügelhorn solo by Terry, and an obscure but high-energy work by Jaki Byard, "One Note."Although Burton is obviously a very confident soloist, he feels no need to hog the spotlight (a common mistake by young jazz musicians in later decades), as he is happy to step back and let the veterans take center stage. Until RCA gets around to reissuing this gem, finding a copy of this long unavailable LP will be very difficult." (The set was actually reissued on cd in 1996, but is long oop.)

There's not much to add to the above. Terry, Brookmeyer and Woods all get ample solo space and, pushed by the energetic rhythm section, sound fierce and inspired.

Donald Byrd’s Fuego is one of the many fine hard-bop sets the trumpeter recorded for Blue Note throughout the late 1950s and ’60s. Featuring all Byrd originals, from the driving pulse of the opening title track to the gospel-tinged “Amen,” which closes out the album, Fuego has much to recommend it. There are top-notch personnel (Jackie McLean lends his soulful sax work to the proceedings), strong compositions, and a relaxed, open feel throughout. And, of course, Rudy Van Gelder’s pristine engineering is the icing on the cake.

04 agosto 2011

Booker Little, Jr(born on April 2, 1938 in Memphis, Tennessee - died October 5, 1961 in New York City, New York)

American jazz trumpeter and composer. Despite having one of the shortest careers in jazz history, Little nevertheless made a noteworthy contribution to the music. Stylistically Little belongs to the lineage of Clifford Brown, featuring crisp articulation, a burnished tone and balanced phrasing.He trained at Chicago Conservatory (1956–58) and worked with leading local musicians such as Johnny Griffin. Later, moving to New York, his most significant associations were with drummer Max Roach and multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy, recording with them both under his own name and theirs. With Dolphy, he co-led a residency at the Five Spot club in New York in June 1961, from which three classic albums were eventually issued by Prestige Records. Here he showed promise of expanding the expressive range of the “vernacular” be-bop idiom of Clifford Brown. Only four albums under his own name were recorded: Booker Little 4 + Max Roach (1958) for United Artists, Booker Little Quartet (1960) for Time, his masterpiece Out Front (1961) for Candid and finally Booker Little and Friend (reissued as Victory and Sorrow) for Bethlehem mere weeks before his passing. He died from uremia at the age of 23.

A contemporary review:Only limited use has been made of jazz as incidental music for British films, but Dizzy Reeceís ambitious scores for the recent Balcon production "Nowhere To Go" are a step in the right direction and compare favourably with some of the colourful themes played by the West Coasters for Hollywood movies. Moody and expressive, these tracks rank among Dizzy's most noteworthy compositions, and are outstanding examples of descriptive writing.Both Dizzy and his front-line partner Tubby Hayes blow short, virile solos on "Main Title" and skate nimbly around the chords of the fast blues, "Escape And Chase". This title opens with some insistent cowbell work by Phil Seamen, while the up-tempo sequences are highlighted by Lloyd Thompson's powerful bass-work. "The Search" (sub-titled ''On The Scene") is a down-to-earth blues with crisp, crackling trumpet, a generous helping of robust tenor, and excellent "walking" bass. "Sunset Scene" is a reiteration of "Main Title"óa mournful melody that you'll find spinning round in your Read long after the record has finished.Keith Goodwin ~ Jazz Journal Vol12 No4, April 1959